FEATURES SUMMARY

 

 

• Annual fee: Low annual fee
• Purchase rate: Low p.a. purchase rate
• Cash Advance rate: Low p.a. cash advance rate
• Balance Transfer rate: Low p.a. blance transfer rate
• Interest-free days: Up to 55 days
• Extras:
  • Phone/Internet banking

• Cash back
• Travel Plus
• Gold Awards
• MasterCard Moments
• Extended Warranty
• Purchase protection
• International Travel insurance
• Commission-free travelers cheques

The Commonwealth Gold credit card is the next step up from the Commonwealth Awards credit card. As the name suggests, the card is based purely around the awards program. But with the Gold credit card you get so much more.

With the inclusion of insurance and travel benefits you’re pretty much covered for anything. The Gold card gets you international commission-free travelers cheques, travel insurance for you and your immediate family (partner and children) for up to three months worth of travel, purchase security and extended warranties (over and above the standard warranty from the manufacturer) to name just a few.

What is impressive about these insurance benefits is that quite a few features are included in the standard benefits which at some banks are usually reserved for platinum cards. This includes such features as rental vehicle excess and travel delay cover.

In terms of benefits, with the current pricing for this credit card’s annual fee (see below), the Commonwealth Gold credit card is pretty well priced (especially when you compare it to the standard Awards credit card). That card gets you access to just the Commonwealth awards program. Then you get an upgrade to a Gold awards program and international travel benefits.

So when you think about it, you’re getting the majority of the international travel insurance benefits that you may need while travelling for less than $60. If you were to go to an insurance company you’d be lucky to find anything as cheap as this for just the travel insurance!

Like the rest of Commonwealth’s rewards credit cards, interest on purchases is p.a. and cash advances accumulate p.a. interest. Balance transfers  interest for the first 5 months, after which it increases to p.a.

You’ll also get 1 point for every $1 spent with the gold card with the ability to redeem your points for cash back (credited to your account), frequent flyer points with Qantas or Virgin Blue, entertainment, shopping and a wide range of other merchandise from Commonwealth’s bonus partners.

In short, if you can pay off your bill each month then this card is great value for money. Commonwealth has stepped up to the plate and created a very competitive Gold credit card with rewards and benefits that would suit a wide range of people, from regular travelers to holidaying families. So it is clear to see why it takes out the #3 spot in the Editor’s Choice Gold Credit Cards category.

Current Annual Fee Pricing Scheme:

The card’s annual fee, but if you happen to be applying for (or already have) a Commonwealth Bank home loan or bank account then the annual fee of your credit card will be waived. Or, if you are an existing Commonwealth credit card customer then (depending on which credit card you have) your annual fee will be either waived or reduced.

Bank account or home loan – Annual fee is waived
Awards Card – Annual fee is reduced
Gold Card – Annual fee is reduced
Platinum Card – Annual fee is reduced
Low Rate – Annual fee is reduced
Low Rate Gold – Annual fee is reduced
Low Fee – Waived when you spend $1000 or more per year on your credit card
Low Fee Gold – Waived when you spend $10,000 or more per year on your credit card

See our top credit card picks in the Editor’s Choice category

With a name like ‘Commonwealth Awards Credit Card’ you’d be hard pressed to find someone who couldn’t figure out what the main feature of this card is. So let’s get straight into it. What ‘awards’ can you earn yourself by using the Commonwealth Awards credit card?

Well for every dollar you spend with this rewards credit card you’ll get one point that goes towards your total awards amount. Once you’ve accumulated enough points you can redeem them for such items as vouchers, gift cards or merchandise from over 30 bonus partners, cash back or frequent flyer points for either Air New Zealand, Qantas or Virgin Blue (providing you are already a member of your chosen airline’s frequent flyer scheme).

The card’s annual fee, but if you happen to be applying for (or already have) a Commonwealth Bank home loan or bank account then the annual fee of your credit card will be waived. Or, if you are an existing Commonwealth credit card customer then (depending on which credit card you have) your annual fee will be either waived or reduced.

Bank account or home loan – Annual fee is waived
Awards Card – Annual fee is reduced
Gold Card – Annual fee is reduced
Platinum Card – Annual fee is reduced
Low Rate – Annual fee is reduced
Low Rate Gold – Annual fee is reduced
Low Fee – Waived when you spend $1000 or more per year on your credit card
Low Fee Gold – Waived when you spend $10,000 or more per year on your credit card

As an alternative you can also redeem points for cash back which is credited back to your account. If you make regular purchases with your credit card with rewards and therefore spend enough money each week to earn enough points to cover your annual fee, then it pretty much pays for itself.

You’ll also have access to Travel Plus, Commonwealth’s exclusive travel service. You can use this service to book anything from flights to snow passes, and car rentals to traffic packages. And to top it all off, any money spent on your awards credit card using this service will earn you bonus points!

Interest is charged at % p.a. for purchases and p.a. for cash advances, and despite having up to 55 days interest free it’s still pretty high for a card such as this, so should be taken into account when considering this card. Balance transfers earn interest for the first 5 months, after which the interest rate increases to p.a.

The Commonwealth Awards credit card would be great for someone who uses their credit card to pay for everyday items as the points earned from this should be enough to cover the annual fee for just having the card. Any points on top of that is a bonus! But with interest rates like the ones that apply to this card, if you’re not always able to pay your monthly bill in full then it might be better to look elsewhere.

See our top credit card picks in the Editor’s Choice category

The Bendigo Gold credit card is a bit of a trick. It appears to have the characteristics of regular Gold credit cards, but really it’s just the Bendigo Red credit card in disguise!

The annual fee on the Gold credit card is almost double that of the Red credit card. But what do you get for that? Well, the interest rate is a little more reasonable on a Gold credit card at for both cash advances and purchases, along with up to 55 days interest free on purchases, which is a nice change.

Rewards points have a marginally better earn rate at 1.5 points per dollar spent, but the reward redemption rate is of course exactly the same. So to get a $100 reward you need to spend just under $24,500 which is still a truck load of money for that kind of reward value.

Rewards available under the Bendigo Rewards program include gift vouchers, discounts, movie tickets, cash back, magazine subscriptions, travel and accommodation. Speaking of travel, this credit card does actually offer two benefits for Gold credit card holders who are planning on travelling – commission-free traveler’s cheques and travel assistance.

Travel assistance at Bendigo gets you emergency ticket replacement, legal and medical assistance, lost luggage assistance, and emergency transport assistance. This is available for you, your spouse and any dependent children under the age of 22 when they are travelling with you. While it’s good to see on the Gold credit card it’s not up to the standard of other gold credit cards, so is no reason to be singing from the roof tops, that’s for sure.

If after all that you’re still hell-bent on getting a Bendigo credit card then we think the Basic Black is probably your best bet in terms of price. Otherwise we’d recommend looking to another bank, plain and simple.

See our top credit card picks in the Editor’s Choice category